Insanity
by batman-defeats-all
Summary: When Opal finally wins, Artemis gives her something to think about in his last moments. Oneshot


**This is another old story. This is another decent story. Another pretty dark story...**

Artemis coughed, blood spilling with each rasp. Above him stood a dark figure, holding a murderous sword in one blood-soaked hand. The maniacal pixie laughed each sound full of insanity. Nearby lay the dead bodies of Holly and Butler. The sword in Opal's hand had slayed Holly once before, for it was the demon Abbot's old sword, which Opal had somehow maintained. This stroke would not be reversed. As Opal brought down the sword for the final blow, Artemis could see his life flash before his eyes.

_Artemis stood, hearing the news that his father had disappeared. It shocked, and even frightened, him_. _Yet, in all of this, he knew he would have to take charge. He was now in charge of the Fowl family, and it was up to him to make sure that the family would not fall. No matter what. _

_Artemis held the lemur in the cage. He knew what he was about to do was wrong, but he had to fix a mistake his mother had made. He felt cruel, and he knew he would never live this down. Even so, when the man he had came to see stepped forward, he handed over the lemur, and the money was passed over. He walked away, meeting Butler outside, and felt immense guilt. _

_Artemis started decoding the symbols from the sprite on the plane. The symbols eluded him, but he couldn't help but think he had done something wrong. HE felt an odd guilt about what he had just done, even though it was a fair trade. Deep down, he knew he was going to have to do more than just 'make a trade'. He couldn't help but wonder how his mother would react to what he was doing. And he knew she would be dreadfully ashamed._

_Artemis looked at the gold he had left. He did not know what had taken over him when he made that trade, but he was glad he made it. His mother was kind and loving, and he no longer felt alone. He felt loved. Yet, he would be going to school within the next week. Also, there was something missing. His mind went to his father, and a gentle tear rolled down his face. Now that he had the fairy gold, he would devote himself to finding his father. And he would never give up, no matter what ever happened. _

_Artemis stood in the hospital room of his father. Recently, the fairies had helped him find, and rescue, his father. He was amazed that the fairies had done this, even though he had helped stop an evil pixie from conquering Haven, and ultimately the planet. He had done so much to the fairies, and they had helped him…..He was interrupted from his thoughts by a doctor hitting into him._

_"I-I'm s-sorry Master Fowl!" the man exclaimed, and Artemis left the room, deep in thought._

_Artemis awoke, feeling somehow as if something had been stolen from him. He quickly checked his bank accounts, and saw that they had not lowered, but in fact seemed slightly higher than he last checked. He still couldn't shake this feeling, and headed into the bathroom. There he was met with a surprise. _

_Artemis felt rather content, for the first time in his life. The only thing made him sad was the death of the commander. At least he had his family, and his friends, back. He didn't have a huge hole in his memory. He didn't feel lonely and friendless. He had family and friends who cared for him, and he wouldn't trade that for anything. _

_Artemis looked at his family for the first time in three years. Only, two new people had joined. Two young boys stood there, and these boys were apparently his 'little brothers'. His mother ran forward, grasping him in her arms for the first time in three long years. _

_Artemis sat in his room, feeling full of guilt. He had lied to Holly. He would never forgive himself for that. Holly had trusted him and he had lied. Lied. He felt worse at this moment than ever before. He didn't deserve to be forgiven. As he was filled with these thoughts, he fingers started tapping._

_One, two, three, four, five._

_One, two, three, four, five._

_One, two, three, four, five._

Artemis' flash backs were cut short as Opal spoke three words.

"I win, Fowl."

Artemis coughed again, each rasp draining his veins.

"Have you, Opal? I might die, but I die loved. No one will love you when you die. There is an old phrase, 'Better to have loved and lost than to not have loved at all'."

Opal's face filled with anger, and she brought down the sword, draining the life of the boy below her. As his corpse drained itself of the last of his blood, Opal bent down, crying, and knowing what Artemis had said was right.

She then spotted the dropped sword, and grabbed it. She brought to herself, and when the LEP came, they found four corpses, and one had a smile, finally being free of her own insanity.


End file.
